All To Myself
by TeamBlaus4EVER
Summary: Love, Friendship, Trouble, and everything else in between. Claire has been there and done all of that. SEQUEL to Because I Want You
1. The Beginning Of The End

Here's the sequel to Because I want you! I do not own anything except Claire! Enjoy!

Summary- Love, Friendship, Trouble, and everything else in between. Claire has been there and done all of that.

_'__Take a chance. Live in the moment and make the first move.' _Claire mumbled to herself anxiously. She had remembered the words her big sister, Kitty, had told her. Claire was on her way to meet Pyro and the others to go to Jean's soccer game. She needed to talk to John, she needed to make the first move. She couldn't help but smile as she walked down the hall to the school's main entrance. She rounded the last corner of the hallway that led out to the doors. She froze, her smile long gone. She couldn't believe her eyes. There in front of her was Pyro, but he wasn't alone. There, in full out lick lock, was Pyro and Amara Aquila. The mutant girl that hated her guts. She heart sunk into her stomach, she felt sick watching the two play tossle hockey.

Her eyes started to water, she couldn't believe this, she couldn't believe _him_. She saw as Amara pulled back from their kiss. She was staring Claire dead in the eye as she smiled up at him. Claire could read the look in her eyes loud and clear. _'I win'_ was what the look said. Suddenly Claire didn't feel up to going to Jean's game, let alone leave her room ever again. She was so stupid for ever thinking he cared for her like she did him. How could she even think it? She was right. She was a new flame to him, but now Amara was new and she was had died out.

"Tell Claire-Bear I said bye, will ya Pyro." Amara said and winked as she closed the door to the mansion one final time. She was gone. She was moving out. Pyro, whom was confused, turned around to see no one. What did she mean? He scratched his head and shrugged. Just then Kurt, Scott, Jean, and Evan came down. He was saddened to not see Claire, maybe she was just taking forever to finish getting ready? He had no idea, but he wanted to know.

"She's not coming Pyro, she's not in the mood." Jean said coldly to him. Why was the Shelia being cold to him? What did he do? Maybe Claire knows, he thought as he went to go talk to her. Only Jean shook her head no, Claire didn't _want_ him to go talk to her.

He knew _that _from the look in the red head's eyes. He wasn't wanted, but why? She was excited to go all day now. Why would she change her mind? Why wouldn't she want to see him either? He could convince her to change her mind again, he always could before. He'd just talk to her when he got home then. The group left the mansion and were on their way to the school. Jean was the only one not as excited as the boys. She knew that a small human girl was falling apart right now.

Claire ran inside her room out of breath, sobs controlled her heavy breathing now. She slammed her door shut and paused, her salty tears falling like a river flow now. With her back against the door she slid down to the floor. How could he kiss _her_ of all people? He knows what she's said and done to her and her sister. Why would he even want to breath the same air as her? It doesn't matter in Claire's mind if she kissed him first. He kissed her back. She couldn't call Kitty. She was on her date with Pietro. She couldn't ruin her sister's day because of her.

Their father was right, no one would ever love her. Kitty loved her though. Kitty was always someone that would love her to the end. She stood up and went over to her and Kitty's mirror. She looked at the girl staring back at her. Wasn't she pretty enough? Wasn't she fun to be around? Why can't she be loved like Pietro loves Kitty? Why couldn't Pyro like her, like she liked him? She clenched her fist on the dresser tightly. Why did this always happen to her? Why does the rug always have to be pulled out from under her? She slammed her fist hard into the mirror, shattering it.

She gasped sharply as the pain hit her. She looked at her hand. All she saw was raw skin with blood coated glass sticking out of it everywhere. Claire didn't scream. She just held her hand to her chest and sank to the floor sobbing. She stood up on her feet again, but made the mistake of looking at her hand too long. So much blood was there. It was everywhere on her besides her hair. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted. She hit the floor with a thud

Ray, Bobby and Jubilee were walking down the hall when they heard a thud come from Kitty and Claire's room. They all looked at each other worried. That didn't sound good. They all sped walked over to the door in a rush. Jubilee knocked quickly. They were worried even more when they remembered Kitty was out with Pietro. It had to be Claire in the room.

"Claire? It's Jubes, Bobby, and Ray, can we come in?" Jubilee called out, fearing for her new friend. Bobby, after hearing no answer, moved his girlfriend a side and barged inside. Jubilee covered her mouth in shock seeing her friend on the floor. The boys rushed to her side in an instant. Ray held her in his arms on the floor as Bobby patted her cheeks trying to see if she'd wake up.

"Claire, please wake up. God, Kitty's going to freak. Claire, hunny, please wake up." Jubilee said freaking out from the doorway. Claire groaned in pain as she started to come through. Jubilee put her hand over her heart in relief.

"Jubes, go get the professor." Bobby told her. She nodded and left before they could tell her twice. The two boys helped her to her feet and over to the bed. Bobby and Ray winced seeing her hand so bloody.

"Claire, what happened?" Ray said speaking up for once since he entered the room. Claire looked at them sadly before avoiding their questioning eyes. She didn't feel like talking. She was so tired. She just wanted to close her eyes and never wake up.

"I got mad." She said softly, so soft they almost couldn't hear her. She looked so dead right now. Neither boy thought they'd ever see that look in her eyes. She was always so happy. She was shy, but her eyes were always so full of life. Jubilee came running in the room with Storm, Wolverine, and the professor behind her. The boys moved out of the way so the adults could take a look at Claire. Storm gasped seeing the shattered glass in the girl's bloody hand. Logan couldn't believe how lost the girl looked right then and there. The professor knew before he could get to the bottom of what happened, they need to take care of her hand. He knew from the two boy's minds telling him that she was passed out on the floor, that she was in no condition to be walking.

"Logan will you bring down to the infirmary please. Ororo and I will meet you down there in a moment." Charles asked looking at his two friends. Logan nodded and picked Claire up in his arms like she weighed nothing at all. Ororo and Charlies shared a concerned look before following after them.

Kitty smiled and smelled her lily as she closed the door. She had the best day so far, but she couldn't wait to see the new happy couple though. Seeing her sister happy was just going to be the cherry to her banana split Sunday. She saw Jubilee rushing down the stairs. She was rushing at her. Kitty held out her hands to try and stop the girl from ramming her. Jubilee caught her breath from running. She had known it was kitty coming home, so she went running.

"Kitty . . . Claire . . . infirmary." Jubilee said out of breath. Kitty's blood ran cold. What happened? Kitty froze. Jubilee wouldn't have any of that though. She grabbed her friend's hand and the two ran to get to the lower levels.

Once they got the glass out of her hand and put in her stitches, they were finished. The professor wheeled in front of the girl and looked her in the eyes. Her lifeful eyes were gone. They were so dead. Right before he spoke, the door to the infirmary burst open and a breathless Kitty and Jubilee ran in. Kitty saw her sister and rushed to her side. She looked at the professor with fear in her eyes. Claire was so happy when she left. What happened?

_'That's what I was going to find out Kitty, but maybe you'd be better fit for this task.' _Kitty nodded to the professor. He was right. Claire would tell her everything. The professor nodded and he, and everyone else left the room. Leaving the two sisters alone. Kitty, once the door was closed, moved in front of her sister. She didn't like the emptiness look in Claire's eyes one bit. She knew this look too well, and she wanted it to be gone. She caressed Claire's face in her hand and smiled weakly.

"Hey Clairie. It's Kitty. Can you tell me what happened?" Kitty said softly with a sad smile as she looked at her sister. Claire's eyes locked with her sister. No emotion ran through then once, that scared Kitty the most. It was like Claire was there, but then she wasn't at the same time.

"I saw him. I saw him Kitty." She said softly with a blank look in her eyes. Kitty was confused though. Who was she talking about? It wouldn't have been their father. He would never set foot near this place. She could only think of one other man.

"John? Is that, like, who you saw Clairie?" Kitty asked her sister, almost in a plead. She needed to know. She needed to know how she could fix this. Claire closed her eyes, holding back another sob as she shook her head.

"No . . . Pyro." Claire said just above a whisper. Kitty knew then something really bad must have gone down, but what? Claire never called John _Pyro_, never. Kitty watched as her sister's eyes opened. They drooped tiredly. She was exhausted.

"You sleep Claire. I'll, like, fix everything." Kitty said, helping her younger sister lay down in the bed. Kitty was about to leave when Claire didn't let her hand go. She turned to face her sister. Her heart broke seeing Claire now.

"You can't fix it this time Kit." Claire said softly as her eyes closed. Kitty knew she couldn't, but she was going to try her best to be there for Claire and stand by her side. She walked back over to the bed her sister was currently laying down in. She climbed into the bed, her back against the wall. Claire clung to her sister, silent tears running down her cheeks. Kitty just wanted, no _needed_ to, make it all better. Claire didn't deserve this at all. She gently played with Claire's hair as she slept, moving it out of her eyes. She knew the other's had gotten home by now. Did she want John to see Claire? She shushed her sister softly as she started to whimper in her sleep. Kitty needed to protect Claire. She needed to protect her from the one person she had thought she'd never have to. One Saint John Allerdyce.


	2. Missing Million Dollar Smile

Thanks for the reviews guys! I do not own anything besides Claire. Enjoy!

The brotherhood boys leaned against the wall that was closes to the gym doors. Toad was trying to catch a fly with his tongue while the other's waited for the assembly to start. Pietro watched Kitty rub her sister's back comfortably. He was watching them like a hawk. Kitty had called him that morning and told him something had happened yesterday while they were out on their date. She hadn't given him details. She didn't have too. He, unlike what others think, wants to make her happy. If Claire was hurt, so as Kitty. He knew since he and Kitty met, she was his to protect, and now Claire is too.

"Awe man. Even the flies think they're too good for us yo." Toad said as the fly buzzed away unharmed. Lance completely ignored him though. His eyes were on the newest brotherhood member, Amara Aquila. She was laughing with Tabitha, her best friend. They all knew Lance fancied her a lot. Either he really didn't care if they knew, or he was really bad at hiding it. Either way? Pietro didn't really care.

"Why are we even at school? Mystique's gone." Fred asked, having no idea why they were even at school in the first place. Toad rolled his eyes. He knew why they were there. Of course he knew. He wasn't as clueless to his surrounds as everyone thought. He had eyes. He wasn't blind. He snickered and nodded his head to the two oldest boys of the group.

"Yo, we know why Pietro's here man. He'd like to get a certain Kitten stuck up a tree, yo." Toad teased with a snicker. "Lance is only here to keep his eyes on the princess, yo," Toad now teased Lance. Lance hit him hard in the shoulder, causing Toad to yelp in pain. Lance smirked and took off to go talk to Amara and Tabby. Toad and Fred left upon seeing that Kitty was coming over to see Pietro. Pietro straightened up upon seeing his girlfriend coming over to him. He frowned, seeing that she looked so down.

"How's your sister?" Pietro asked her. He's only gotten use to talking slow around her so far. No one else. She had told him that it didn't matter if he talk fast or normal speed to her. She just liked to talk to him without fighting.

"She won't, like, talk to me Pietro. She's totally shutting herself down, and I, like, have no idea what to do. She won't even, like, let John near her at all this morning or last night." Kitty said sadly. She didn't know what to do, let alone what was wrong with her sister. Pietro, knowing how this was affecting Kitty, brought her into his embrace. Who would have thought it? Pietro Maximoff in a long term relationship with non other than Kitty Pryde. It still shocked them both at how they now acted around each other. If someone had told them that they would be one of those happy lovey dovey couple a year ago? They would have laughed in their faces and left.

Kitty and Pietro watched Claire intently as the assembly started. She looked so dead, like she was there, just no one was home. When Kitty saw John sit next to Claire. She wanted to go over there and pick him up, throwing him as far as she could across the gym. What was stopping her from doing just that? Her boyfriend's strong hold that he had on her. He knew what she wanted to do, but Claire had to handle this as much as she could before hurricane Kitty attacked.

He knew she could easily phase out of his hold, but she wasn't going to. Either she hadn't remembered her powers or she was still deciding if she wanted to phase John into a wall and keep him there or not. It didn't matter. She wasn't phasing yet and he was holding her back. So far? No one's being phased into a wall or getting smacked by a Pryde. In Pietro's opinion? That's a good thing.

When Pyro got back home, he had gone up to Claire and Kitty's room. The door was wide open. He had smirked, thinking she was in there waiting for him to come cheer her up. When they had come back, the sparky Shelia and her two buddies looked depressed. He had wondering briefly what that was about. When he entered the room, his blood boiled. The mirror was shattered and there was blood on the floor and the bed. The only thing missing that he was really hoping to see? Claire. He was about to call for help, when Evan ran in the room.

He had told him that Claire hurt her hand and was down in the infirmary. He told him that Kitty was with her since she got home from her date with white haired mate. He decided against going down there. He knew better than to interrupt sister time. He was going to see what happened to her hand the next morning, only she ignored him the whole ride to school. She sat up front with Scott and Jean sat in the back with them. She hadn't even glanced at him once.

So he was trying, yet again, to get her to talk to him. He waited for Kitty to leave and sat down next to Claire. Her hair was down, making it so he couldn't see her face. He'd fix _that_ little detail. He went to move her hair behind her ear, but she flinched and moved closer to Rogue. Rogue sent him a glare before looking at Claire sadly. What was going on? Some girl that he didn't even know, must be new, asked Rogue if Claire was alright. Pyro was too taken back just by the fact that she flinched at his touch.

The assembly had already started. So he couldn't leave like he had wanted to. They were in the front row, right in front of the teachers and the new principle. A quake broke him from his thoughts. He knew it was Lance Alvers showing off for Amara. He looked over at Claire, she looked so un-phased by it. A longer quake erupted, sending the scoreboard sky diving straight for Principle Kelly, only it shifted it's course and hit the wall. Again, Claire looked un-phased by it all. What was going on with her?

"Claire? Shelia, c'mon ju . . ." Pyro started, but Rogue cut him off.

"She wants ya ta leave her alone, _John._" Rogue says to him off with a hiss, saying his name like as if it was poison to her lips. He flinched upon hearing her call him John. He was only use to hearing Kitty and Claire calling him that.

"I just want ta know what's wrong wit her, Shelia." Pyro said innocently to Rogue. He just wanted to know why Claire was shutting him out. He just didn't understand what was going on in that little blond head of her's.

_'_ "_This is gonna hurt love, but it's for your own good."_ _He told her before he rammed her head into the wall. As she went limp in his arms. he quickly moved one of his arms under her legs and the other under her shoulders. Her head rested on his shoulder, as her arms laid limp in the air. She looked even more innocent, if possible, right now, Pyro thought as he walked down the hall with her in his arms.'_

_'Oh crap' _Was the first thing that he thought after remembering a very good reason as to why she could be acting like this. What if she remembered that he was the one that had done that to her? She would know he lied to her since the beginning then.

They all were at the championship game, even Claire. Kitty had convinced her that it would mean a lot to Jean if she was there. Claire sat in between Rogue and Kitty. Pietro had showed up, too, surprisingly enough. Pietro, when he saw the girls, gave Claire a hug. To everyone's shock, she had hugged him back. Kitty has yet to know what he said to Claire that gave her just a tiny spark. She was now cheering on Jean like everyone else. They were happy to see her smile. But only the few that really knew her, knew it wasn't her famous smile. It didn't reach her eyes at all, but it was a start. Pyro wasn't the least bit happy it was Pietro Maximoff, of all people, who achieved this. He wanted to be the one to bring back just a tiny bit, if not all, of her old self.

They flamed up the new mascot of an eagle on top of the scoreboard. Suddenly Fireworks illuminated the sky with all different colors. Only a few minutes into the game, a new voice was heard over the loud speaker. Just when they were having fun, something had to ruin it. Somehow Lance and the other three members of the brotherhood got a microphone. Kitty looked at Pietro to see if he knew anything. He shrugged, meaning that he hadn't a clue.

"That's better. My name's Lance, I also call myself Avalanche, because I'm a mutant. That's right, me and Blob and Toad and Magma here, we're all mutants. Born different. What you might call _freaks_." Lance announced to the whole town. They all couldn't believe that he were doing this, not even Pietro,

"I . . . I can't believe he's doing this." Kitty said out loud to anyone that was close enough to hear her, shaking her head in disbelief. Pietro held the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe the Brotherhood either. He hadn't even a clue that this was going to happen, or he would have warned Kitty and the others ahead of time. Not that he'd choose his girlfriend and the x-men over his team, but this had to be the stupidest thing the others have done.

"You see, there's lots of mutants in Bayville high. Scott Summers over there, he's one, and so is Jean Grey, the big soccer star. Most of her pals from the Xavier institute are too, besides Kitty Pryde's little sister of course." Lance went on and on. They all watched in horror as Lance moved the fields apart. After seeing Jean pull one of her soccer team mate out of Lance's hole that he had created, Scott got up and grabbed his bag.

"Sorry professor X, cats out of the bag." He said quickly as they all raced off to go suit up. Even Claire went with them to go help. She was now apart of the team as they were. Plus, they could use all the help they could get.

"And another thing. We think that mascot totally reeks!" Lance yelled and pointed to it, showing the crowd that Blob was crushing his way up the bleachers to it. He picked it up in his arms, only it had gotten blasted out of his grasp, thanks to Scott. Scott turned to Lance angrily.

"Alright Lance, you want it all out in the open? Lets put it out there!" He shouted over to him. Lance kneeled down with a smirk. He was going to enjoy every second of what was about to go down here tonight.

"I've been waiting for this." Lance smirks as he jumped off the announcer's box. He and Scott fight off with each other, while Evan spikes the television van. Kitty phases through the cameras, grabbing the tape and destroying it all. Claire watched in horror as Blob started tearing apart the bleachers, all the while people were still on them. She watched as Rogue approached him with only one glove on. She grabbed onto his arm, but Claire couldn't watch as Rogue used her powers on the Blob.

The bleachers collapsed on top of Rogue and some unlucky people from Blob's fall completely. Kitty and Claire raced over and helped her out. They didn't even notice Kurt as he jumped Toad when he snatched up someone's purse. Claire went to go help some other's who were trapped under the bleachers while Kitty when to go help Kurt with Toad. Lance smirked as he got up, ready for more. He sent another quake at Scott, but was hit in the shoulder by one of Scott's blasts. Pyro, whom was on the other side of the field and had just finish up with Amara, saw the eagle start to lean over. His graze followed down to the ground. There sat an, un-expecting Claire Pryde, helping someone out from the rubble.

"CLAIRE!" Pyro yelled, trying to get her attention before it was too late. Kitty's head snapped up upon hearing John's fearful scream for Claire. She now saw that the eagle was going to crush her sister at any second if she didn't do anything. She was too far away from her though, making it so that she wouldn't get there in time. She looked around franticly and spotted Pietro.

"Pietro, do something!" She pleaded to the boy further up ahead from her. He spotted the eagle about to fall and nodded as he ran as fast as he could to Claire. Kitty ran too. She knew someone would get hurt no matter what in this situation. Claire looked up, having heard her sister's scream to Pietro. Before she knew it she was pushed out of the way. She looked up just in time to see Pietro be pulled under neath the flaming eagle. He had saved her life.

"No!" She ran over, but the flames were to intense. She spotted Pyro and Kitty, only he was closer. "Do something! Make the flames stop. Just . . . don't let him die!" She pleaded. Pietro couldn't die. He just couldn't. He had saved her life. He made her sister so happy. He just couldn't die. Pyro got caught off guard from her talking to him. Her eyes didn't look the same like they always did before when she would look at him though. They didn't light up this time. "_PLEASE_!" She screamed out to him, returning him from his thoughts. He shook his head and concentrated on killing the flames.

After a minute, the flames were gone and Kitty had come into sight now. She said something to Claire and grabbed her hand tightly. They both took a hold of Pietro's hands and pulled him out together. Pyro watched as the girls held him in their arms, crying on Claire's part. Storm arrived and took out the other flames with rain. Pyro looked away sadly. Claire still didn't want him near her. Why?

Kitty walked in her and her sister's room with Claire's favorite drink, chocolate milk with a twist of strawberry in it. She had to laugh when Jamie asked her what it was in the kitchen, then made a gagging sound before leaving when she had told him. Claire was sitting on her bed, with a blank stare on the floor. When Pietro got hurt, the complete deadness in her eyes had returned.

Kitty handed her the glass and told her to drink it. She did, but didn't smile upon knowing what it was like she use to when Kitty made it for her. When she had finished, Kitty took the cup and put it on the desk next to the bed. She wrapped her arms around her younger sister and the two just stayed there until Claire fell a sleep in her arms. Kitty knew that she would just wake Claire up if she tried to get her laid out on her bed, so she asked the professor to send up some help.

She really just hoped it was Evan and not John, anyone but John really. He was the cause of this somehow. Kitty didn't know how, but he was. He wasn't making a big effort at all to get Claire to talk to him either. _That_ confused Kitty the most. What was he waiting for? Kitty looked up as the door open, ridding herself of that thought process. Evan walked inside. Kitty smiled sadly to him. He smiled weakly back at her.

Evan walked over to the bed as Kitty untangled herself from Claire carefully. Evan swooped in and picked the small sleeping girl up with ease. Kitty pulled back the sheets on the bed as he laid Claire down in the bed. Kitty covered her up quickly, moving the bangs out of her eyes before she went to talk to Evan in the hall. Kitty walked around the bed quietly and led Evan out of the room. She shut the door as quietly as she could and turned to face Evan. Evan could see the sadness in her eyes, and it killed him to see the two sisters like this.

"What happen?" Evan asked her with concern in his voice. Kitty sighed and looked back at the closed door once more. She turned back and looked Evan straight in the eyes, this was serious. Evan had every right to know. He was like a big brother to them both. She would have told him everything she could, but she honestly didn't know herself.

"I, like, don't know, but I'm totally going to find out." Kitty said to him, determined now more than ever. She was going to get to the bottom of why her sister is a walking zombie if it's the last thing she does. Her first lead? John Allerdyce.


	3. Lips Are For Biting, Not Hands

I hope you all like this chapter! Thanks for the previous reviews everyone! I do not own anything except Claire!

No one knew of last night's horror fest, thankfully, except for the mutants of course. Today, to everyone else, was just a normal day like any other. Well, almost everyone. Kitty had skipped Jean's award ceremony to go find Pietro. Scott thought that she was sitting with some of her other friends, only Rogue, Evan, and Jean knew that she wasn't in there. She needed answers, and she needed them now. She was walking down the empty hallway, looking at every corner he could be standing. She knew he was in school, just where? She knew for a fact off of the brotherhood skipped the assembly. They were still ticked about the game.

A hand suddenly covered her mouth and said hands lifted her up in the air. She couldn't phase since she didn't know who exactly had her. She screamed and kicked, only her screams were muffled and her kicks were weak. She did the next best thing she could think of. She bit her attacker. The grip on her waist flipped her around in their grasp as the attacker's hand on her mouth quickly let her go. She was staring at the man's shoes. They looked familiar to her.

"Ouch-babe-did-you-have-to-bite-me?" Pietro exclaimed, waving his hand around in pain. Kitty giggled and looked up at him. Their eyes met and locked together. Pietro calmed down and smirked down at her. She just wanted to kiss him so badly, but she was out here looking for him for a reason.

"You, like, didn't have to grab me." She huffed, wanting to get that out before she got to the point of her searching for him in the first place. "Pietro, I'm starting to worry about her. I, like, have no clue what happened while we were out that night." Kitty confessed to her boyfriend. He sighed and kissed her on the cheek. He figured she'd be in the dark about all of this.

"Not surprised that no one told you. Pyro and Amara . . ." He trailed off, not wanting to be the one to say it to her. He was on his guard. He knew that she was going to freak if, and when, he told her. He had to be ready for this moment, but how do you stop someone who was untouchable?

"Pyro and Amara _what_?" Kitty asked, her voice raising a little bit. If Amara Aquila was involved in this, nothing coming out of his mouth in the next few minutes were ever going to be pretty at all. Pietro gulped, ready to speak up and tell her already. He just needed to find his voice again.

"PyroandAmaramadeoutinfrontofClaire." Pietro said to her far too quickly so that if it was anyone else, that wasn't Kitty Pryde, that they wouldn't have ever understood him. Kitty had learned how to speak Pietro Maximoff years ago. She was beyond mad now. That _bitch_.

"Excuse me, like, what did you just say?" Kitty asked him, extremely upset now. He knew that she had understood him perfectly clear though. He tensed, knowing that Kitty had a bad tempter, especially when it came to her sister. He learned that the hard way. The mark she had left on his arm is still there from when she gave him a piece of her mind on him taking Claire at the beach. No wonder Claire was so upset. Kitty couldn't believe this. The one person, besides herself, that cared about Claire, kissed the one girl who had it out for her.

"She's been bragging about it to Tabby since she got to the boarding house that day. She said Claire saw them and ran away crying before Pyro could even know that she was even there." Pietro explained slower to her this time. Kitty held the bridge of her nose. How could this go from so perfect, to a total mess?

"What do I do now? John, like, doesn't even know what he did, and Claire's going into a totally bad depression. So many people have let her down in the past, Pietro. John just finally totally snapped, like, that final string in her head. She can't take loosing someone else. Let alone him." Kitty explained to her boyfriend, trying to get him to understand her sister's mental insanity.

"From what I've seen, she'll get through this Kitten. She's a Pryde girl. She'll bounce back on her feet in no time." Pietro said to her, trying to be supportive for his girlfriend. He was, honestly, nervous about Claire as well though. He didn't know for a fact if she'd get though this, but like he'd tell Kitty that.

"Lets, like, hope so." Kitty said sadly to him. Pietro kissed her on the lips softly before the bell rang to release the children from the award thing. It wasn't awkward or anything for them to kiss in public. It was like they had finally moved a step forward in their relationship instead of moving two steps back. They kissed one final time before they went off to class.

Figures her class would be track. Pietro had showed up just to watch, as did John. This is going to go over well. Claire's also in this class. The coach thought it would be funny to have the two Pryde sisters race each other today. The girls got ready to race. They were up soon. Kitty couldn't help but notice her sister look sadly up at the bleachers. John's eyes had a sparkle in them and he waved, thinking that she was going to wave back, only she didn't. Kitty could tell from the look on Pietro's face, that he wanted to run John into the ground. She shook her head, she needed to focus on class. She stretched her legs slowly. She could still tease Pietro. Maybe that will distract him from beating John down to a pulp.

"Hey mate, any idea why the Shelia is pissed at me?" John asked Pietro, whom was next to him on the bleachers. Pietro clenched his fist tightly to his side and took deep breathes. He just wanted to kick this guy's ass for hurting Claire the way that he did. Pietro felt the need to protect Claire, he has since he had found out that she's Kitty's little sister.

"Either-you-honestly-are-an-ass-hole-or-you're-really-stupid." Pietro said harshly to Pyro, glaring at him the whole time. Pyro didn't understand why everyone was being so cold to him lately. First Claire shut him out completely. He hardly ever sees Kitty anymore, and now Pietro looks like he just wants to kill him. Great. Just _great_.

"I don't know what ya problem is mate, but I don't like ya 'tude. I didn't do anythin' ta ya since Kit woke up." John said, standing up on his feet, his fists shaking at his sides. Pietro stood up too after him. This was it. It was just a matter of time before the first punch was thrown. Kitty and Claire got ready to race one another. Both girls, upon hearing Pietro shout something, looked up. The two boys were face to face now. John with a flame in hand. He was lucky that no one else was around to see anything. They ignored them though. Pietro wouldn't let John use his fire in public, let alone near Claire and Kitty.

Pietro heard Scott's concerned voice from across the field. He saw some things for the track team float in the air. One of the poles were aiming straight for the girls he cared for deeply. Pietro knew that he had to act fast, but he couldn't grab both of them with out ripping one of their arms out of it's socket. Pyro _had_ to help. He grabbed Pyro's arm and in a flash they were on the ground near the girls. Pyro looked clueless as to what was happening at the moment.

"Grab-Claire-you-idiot!" Pietro shouted, pushing him toward Claire. He raced over and picked up Kitty in his arms and moved quickly. He had seen Pyro go crashing into Claire before the pole could kabob them. Kitty had hid her face in Pietro's chest when he grabbed her. She looked up at him. Her eyes had a _'what just happened?'_ look in them.

Claire didn't know what had happened. She was afraid to even open her eyes. One second she was going to race her sister, and the next she's being trampled and spun around on the ground. She opened her eyes slowly to meet _his_ hazel ones. He was still saving her, only she didn't light up like she would upon knowing this. She looked at the wall slowly to see a pole sticking out of it. Her graze turned over to the left to see Pietro holding her sister safely in his arms.

John got up, carefully not to hurt her, and stuck his hand out to help her up. She couldn't look him in the eyes. She couldn't even look up to meet his eyes. She got up on her own slowly and ran over to, a passed out, Jean, and Scott. John slowly lowered his hand. He was going to figure out what was going on if it was the last thing he did. He was going to protect her too, no matter how much she tries to shut him out. He's going to be there to protect her if it's the last thing he does.

Kitty ran as fast as she could, phasing through the door of the institute. "Professor!" She shouted before turning back and opening the doors for Scott. Claire and John had came in after another second. The professor told them to wait in the lobby while they examined Jean.

"She has to be okay." Claire mumbled, staring down the hall that they had just disappeared down. John knew that she was talking more to herself then to him. He just really wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be alright, but he knew he couldn't. Kitty came back to tell them that the Professor was trying to figure out what was going on with Jean. Claire raced over to her and hugged her sister. Kitty hugged her back, her eyes locked with the hazel eyes that were quickly burning out. Kitty knew that Claire shutting John out of her life was hurting him as much as it was hurting her.

They heard an explosion in the lower levels and looked at the elevator that led down to said lower levels. Kitty cupped Claire's face, making it so their eyes would lock "When the others get here, tell them to get down to the infirmary." Kitty said seriously to her sister. Claire nodded that she understood and Kitty pulled away to go change into her uniform. "Watch her for me!" Kitty yelled to John as she disappeared through a wall.

When the group of Rogue, Scott, Kurt, Evan, Kitty, and Wolverine entered the room with Professor X, they were startled by almost instantly getting hit with random objects. They had already made a plan. Rogue was to clear Jean's mind enough for Scott to try and get through to her. First they had to get her to Jean though. Kurt and Kitty was coming in slowly. She phased herself to not get hit by a tray, only it ended up hitting Kurt, whom was behind her.

"Oops, like, sorry." She said giggling to Kurt. She got hit with a bowl from behind. Kurt bamfed up to Rogue and took a hold on her. He bamfed them both into the small tornado Jean was creating. Kitty watched as Rogue struggled to just get her finger tips to touch Jean's head, but she succeed in doing so. The wire Rogue was holding onto snapped, sending Rogue flying around. Scott had caught her. Kitty was now sitting behind Rogue to support frail body. Scott got up, and stumbled over to get closer to Jean. "Jean! It's Scott!" He shout out to Jean.

"Scott? Scott, I can't control it." They all looked down at Rogue. Jean was talking through her. Kitty looked away. She knew how Rogue felt about Scott. This is gonna hurt her the most of all. Scott is being so, well Scott. He's in love with Jean. Everything dropped to the floor, including Jean. Kitty went upstairs to go tell Claire and John that it was over. Only, when she got there, it was only John. Where was Claire? What the hell did John say, or do? He knew what her eyes were asking him. He nodded his head to the stairs sadly before stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. Kitty knew that Claire had gone to their room. She didn't want to be alone with John. The saddest part of all this. He _did_ want to be alone with her.


	4. First Time For Everything

Sorry the long wait. I do not own anyhting in this except for Claire! Enjoy!

The next day at the institute, the morning routes were as hectic as ever. Claire Pryde was the only one completely ready and set to go out of all the high schoolers. She had woken up extra early. Her excuse? She wanted to miss the morning rush. So she asked Logan to train with her. Kitty knew the real reason was because of her nightmares. Not only were her nightmares of their father, but now they were of John and Amara.

"Uh, thanks Mr. Logan. I really needed to blow off some steam." Claire said shyly to Logan, whom had been in the kitchen with her since she had gotten back down from taking another morning shower. He looked up and stared at the girl. When she had first came here, she was quite and shy, but now she's just dead inside. How could he turn her away when she was asking him for something? Not even he could say no to her, and that bugged him to no end.

"Next time kid, not so early." Logan grunted before taking a sip of his coffee. She nodded with a small shy smile. She felt better after a nice sparing session with Logan, followed by a nice hot shower. She felt refreshed. She knew her heart wasn't healed, but she needed to not let one guy control her whole life.

As Claire put her, now clean, dish inside the cabinet, all the high schoolers stuffed inside the kitchen. She smiled to her sleepy sister and gave Evan a wink while she waved to him. She was in a good mood, and Pyro was even in the room. She wasn't about to ruin her good mood by looking at him now though. So she just announced that she'd call Pietro to bring her to school. Kitty didn't mind that Claire used her boyfriend as an out. She just hoped that she wouldn't make a habit of doing it often.

John picked at his eggs that Logan said were for him. They were still hot, so he knew that they were just recently made. He knew who had cooked them for him too. She was the only one that, in his opinion, could really cook his eggs the way that he liked them. He hated that all she did was wear that fake smile now though. He wanted to see her real smile. The one that reached her eyes. He wanted that smile to be because of him.

Kitty watched her sister sadly from her own locker. Claire, to anyone who didn't know her well, looked perfectly back to normal, but in truth? She was far from being back to normal. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, making her jump out of her trail of thought.

"She actually got along with Toad on the way here. She seemed to be happy, but you could tell that she was just putting on a brave face." Pietro said sadly to her. She sighed and leaned into his embrace for comfort. She needed Pietro now more than ever. She needed to know that she had someone to help her with her sister. She knew it couldn't be John this time though. Claire seemed to be warming up to Pietro since the incident though.

"Same, like, thing happen in the kitchen this morning. She got up extra early. When I asked her about it when she came back from a her second shower, like, don't ask how I know that. I just, like, do. Anyways, she said that she was training with Logan. Then the next time I, like, saw her she was perfectly happy, and just totally left, saying she was going to ask you to pick her up." Kitty said to him as she twisted around in his arms.

"Since when does she_ train _with Logan?" Pietro asked his girlfriend, clearly amused. He couldn't picture the innocent little human girl, Claire Pryde, training with the big bad Wolverine. Pietro quickly glanced over Kitty's head. John was trying to talk to Claire. He had warned Kitty that if John tried anything, maybe she should just let them deal with it on their own for now.

"I don't, like, think Mr. Logan went hard on her though. She didn't have a scratch on her, not even a bruise." Kitty told him. She was slightly jealous that Wolverine went easy on her sister, but she couldn't not be grateful for it at the same time. Pietro nodded, but wasn't looking at her anymore. She knew what he was watching behind her. It didn't take a brain surgeon to put two and two together to know that he was watching Claire with John.

Pietro watched as Pyro tried to rub his thumb against Claire's cheek, but she flinched away at his touch. If any outsiders were to be watching. They would probably think he was talking dirty to her, verbally abusing her. He watched as she turned to leave, completely forgetting her books and to close her locker. They would have been forgotten completely if Pyro hadn't pulled on her arm with a firm tug before twisting her around and wrapping his arms around her.

"Don't you dare _touch_ me!" Claire screamed out. Her scream had reached over to where Kitty and Pietro were standing. Pietro watched as Claire struggled against Pyro's hold, only he wasn't letting her win this time. Pietro's teeth scraped together. He was going to _kill _that fire maniac.

"Kitty-go-to-class-now." He said to her, quickly moving her aside. As much as she wanted to help her sister. She needed to trust Pietro, and he needed to know that she did. She went off to class like he had asked her to. She had it with Evan anyways. He needed to be in the loop too she guessed. Pietro, once Kitty was gone, zoomed over to Claire and Pyro. He ripped Pyro away from Claire, moving her behind him. She clung to his jacket tightly, more of trying to keep him from hurting Pyro then anything else.

"Stay outta this mate. This is between the Shelia and me." Pyro growled at Pietro, taking a step forward. Pietro wasn't having it though. He pushed Pyro right back to where he had just been. Pyro looked over Pietro's shoulder. He wasn't gonna scare Claire more than he already has.

"Leave-Pyro-before-I-make-you." Pietro warned him. Claire was shaking behind him. She was only fearing that Pietro would hurt Pyro again. Even though he broke her heart. She didn't want _him_ to actually be broken.

"I just want ta talk ta the Shelia." Pyro said to him, to her, sadly. He just wanted to know why she was upset with him. He needed to know what he did wrong so he can fix it. He wanted his best friend back. He didn't want to loose her. He wanted to hear her call him Johnny again. He wanted to see that smile that she saved for just him. He wanted to be her hero, not Pietro.

"She-doesn't-want-to-talk-to-you-so-leave-a-message." Pietro said to Pyro, moving to the side more, blocking Pyro's eye sight of Claire completely. Where does this speedy ass guy get off anyways? So he's tight with Claire's sister? He kidnapped her for fucking sakes! What could he have done that was worse than that? The bell rang, Pietro pushed Pyro along. They had the same class together. As much as Pietro wanted to walk Claire to her own class. He knew that she was just going to skip. She needed to put herself back together again.

Claire covered her face with her hands once the boys were gone. She wanted to just break down crying. Why couldn't Pyro just leave her alone? Why couldn't he just accept that she was just trying to cut a clean break from him? Why did he have to push? All she wanted to do was break down and run into his arms, but she couldn't. She won't put herself out there with him, not again. He won't be given another chance to break her heart.

She took a deep breath, a few tears leaked from her eyes as she tried to calm herself down. She grabbed her book from her locker and went to go to the courtyard to relax, but just her luck. Her hand hit the locker and she dropped all her books on the floor. She wanted to scream out in frustration so badly, but she couldn't. She crouched down to pick up her books. She reached out her hand, only for another to pick up the book that she was aiming for. She closed her eyes and prayed that it wasn't Pyro coming back to talk to her.

"Now why is a beautiful girl like you crying?" The voice said to her. She opened her eyes to meet a fresh new pair of hazel eyes. They were a different shade of hazel, more lighter then Pyro's flaming hazel eyes. Before she could react, this stranger was wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"Who . . ." She trailed off in a soft whispered as he helped her up. He smirked as he tilted his head to the right. He motioned to put the book in the locker to her. She nodded, so he did just that. "Thank you." She said shyly to the stranger. He smirked upon seeing how nervous she was. It was cute.

"Name's Julian Keller." He introduced himself to the petite girl. She smiled softly at him. Something about him made her want to laugh. Not to make fun of him or anything, just, she could tell that he had that cocky attitude in him, like Pyro.

"I'm Claire Pryde. You're new right? I've only been here a month or so, but I don't think I've seen you around before." Claire asked him, finding some courage inside of her to ask him in the first place. He nodded to her, answering her question. She had that cute innocent look to her. He found it cute that she was so nervous.

"Nothing to be nervous 'bout Claire. I'm not gonna hurt you." He said to her, caressing her cheek. She wanted so badly to lean into his touch. Something about him just made her heart jump in her chest. Maybe it was the similarities between this boy and Pyro?

"Shouldn't you be in class?" She said to him, changing the subject quickly. She didn't need any reminders of Pyro. He had always said that he would protect her. He had said that he would never hurt her. Now look where they are? He just chuckled and look down at her. She was funny too.

"Shouldn't you? How 'bout we get outta here? My parent's own this restaurant in town. It's nice, like you." He said to her sweetly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She smiled shyly at him, tilting her head abit. Her eyes were locked with his.

"We shouldn't skip school." She said softly to him. He chuckled. What was the point of going to school if they already skipped first period? He lifted up her chin with his knuckle, giving him a full view of her beautiful face. She had one of those kinds of face that would always look young and innocent.

"We already skipped class. Better to leave before we get caught. Unless you have plans to meet up with one of those losers that were fighting over here?" He said to her, just realizing that one of them could have been a boyfriend. Not that he cared or anything, he just didn't feel like kicking someone's ass today.

"Pietro's my sister's boyfriend. He was just playing hero, like always." Claire said shyly to him. She couldn't even bring herself to say Pyro's name, knowing she couldn't just call him Pyro. Julian tensed at Pietro's name. He's in deep shit if that guy sees him with this girl. Claire didn't miss that at all. This boy knew Pietro some how, and their was history there.

"For such a pretty girl? No wonder he'd need to play hero. That other guy looked like he was pretty desperate to get you. I was about to step in myself." Julian chuckled to her. She smiled and looked around. Bobby and Ray were in the class that she was missing. Knowing them, they'd come looking for her soon.

"Why would you do that? You just met me, and Py . . . _John_, just wanted to talk to me, but I didn't want to talk. Besides, I'm not _that_ pretty." Claire said sadly to Julian. She missed calling Pyro Johnny. She missed talking to him too. She knew that she wasn't pretty though. This guy was just flirting with her. She didn't really even know why, but he was.

"Lets just call it my hero senses were tingling then." Julian said to her with a smirk. Claire, genially, laughed at his joke. It felt good to laugh again. She mentally frowned, knowing that Pyro would have made a similar joke to make her laugh.

"Those tend to go off with everyone when I'm around." Claire giggled back to him. Julian laughed with her. He shrugged that he didn't care, and honestly he didn't. He loved playing hero, especially for a pretty girl like Claire. It always boosted up his ego, not that it needed to be boosted anyways though.

"So should I expect for them to go off alot then?" Julian asked her, hinting a double meaning, which she had caught. She smiled up at him. Did she want to be friends with this guy? Is she just setting herself up for another heart break? She didn't like him like she liked . . . likes Pyro though.

"Claire!" A voice shouted from down the hall. She spun around just as Julian looked up to see who had called her. Claire smiled weakly and glance back at Julian before looking back at Roberto, whom was making his way over to them.

"Oh hey Robby." She greeted him in a hug once he appeared next to them. He hugged her back, sending a warning glare to Julian, whom just smirked it off. Roberto, much like all the other X-men and new recruits, was protective of Claire. She once told him she was changing his name to Robby and when he asked why? Her answer was simple. She liked the name. She then told him his name was good and it fit him, but she always wanted to give someone a nickname, so he let her, and only her, call him Robby.

"Bobby texted me. Since when do you skip?" Roberto asked with a playful smirk. He loved flirting with Claire. He loved to flirt period really. It was nice to see Claire smiling again. It made everyone's day brighter some how.

"Since I don't feel well. Do you, um, think you could get Scott to drive me home?" Claire asked, battering her eye lashes at Roberto. Julian was impressed she had this guy wrapped around her finger so well. He wanted to talk to her longer though. She can't leave yet.

"I could drive you if you want?" Julian spoke up. It was a perfect plan. Drive her home, get to know her better, then get her number. Perfect. Claire bit her bottom lip and glance between the two boys. Julian's offer was tempting, and Scott was in class anyways. Jean's homes because of the incident, so she could just warn Jean someone was dropping her off. Couldn't she?

"She doesn't want you to, buddy." Roberto said, taking a step forward. Julian chuckled and took a step forward too. Claire pushed Roberto back some so she had some room to breath. One of her hands rested on Julian's chest, the other on Roberto's arm.

"Could you tell Scott next time you see him that a friend drove me home?" Claire said sweetly to Roberto. He glared at a smirking Julian, but nodded to Claire. Claire kissed him on the cheek and waved good bye to him as Julian led her away. Roberto, once they had rounded the corner, took out his phone and texted someone. He slid the phone in his pocket after he sent someone a message and went to go back to class.

Pietro opened his phone secretly under his desk. He looked sadly over at Pyro, whom looked at him questionably. Pietro read the message over again. Should he tell Pyro? Would it only make this whole mess worse? He slipped his phone back in his pocket and looked back up at Pyro. He mouthed _'Roberto'_ over to him. What Claire was even thinking, he had no idea. He just didn't want a burned down school. He'd have to tell Pyro at some point, but maybe by a fountain or something.

John looked back down at his English note book. Words were scribbled down everywhere, just like his state of mind, scrambled up. He didn't know what anything meant anymore. No one was telling him anything. Was he suppose to figure it out on his own? It would be easier to do that if everyone would leave Claire alone for more than one minute though. He just needed to talk to her. He needed to ask her what he did wrong. He knew he should have not gone to the game that night. He should have listened to his gut and gone to see what was wrong with her. He should have never listened to Jean Grey and went to her stupid game.

Julian glanced over his shoulder quickly. The girl next to him looked so sad. Why? He had no idea, but he didn't like it. He liked her laugh already. Something about her was just, wow. He banged his hands on the wheel, making her jump in her seat and look at him confused.

"Enough of your pouting, it's ruining my mood." Julian said looking at her, while trying to keep an eye on the road. She shot a _'how dare you?'_ look. He just chuckled at her. Which only got him another hit in the arm by her. He rolled his eyes and unbuckled himself form the car. She watched in pure horror as he climb on the seat, with a green glow holding onto the wheel. He was a mutant.

"Julian! You're gonna hurt your self! Get down!" Claire shouted over the winds. Julian just fell into a laughing fit, his hand flying back like he was riding a bull. Claire screamed, seeing him leaning back on the seat top, thinking he was going to fly out of the car and leave her to her death. Julian just laughed again and held out his free hand to her, he wanted her to feel the rush too. She shook her head no. She was fearing for her life. This is something Pyro would do. He was just crazy enough to try too. Julian just chuckled. He could tell how scared she was, even if she didn't have to be.

"Trust me beautiful, I won't let anything happen to you." Julian shouted into the air. Claire looked away from him, thinking about it to herself. She tilted her head up at him, biting her bottom lip. He thought she looked even cuter when she bit her lip like she was. She, after a moment of hesitation, nodded her head and took his out stretched hand.

"Promise." She wasn't asking him. She was making him promise her. She didn't think she could take another heart break like the one Pyro caused. Her heart still ached just thinking about him. Julian noticed the seriousness in her eyes. He knew then that she was hurt badly by someone. He nodded and balanced her on her seat top.

This what she loved the most about running with Pietro. The speed. The wind rushing through her hair. She looked over at Julian really quick, her face exploding with her best smile. One she hasn't shown in a long time. Julian controlled the car with ease, using his powers to steer the car. He looked over at her for a moment, he knew she was having a blast. He chuckled, seeing her slowly let go of the seat and raise her arms in the air.

"Hello Bayville!" She shouted to the heavens as she raised her arms in the air, her eyes closed in attempt to look up and get some sun on her face. Julian turned a little to stay in his lane. What he didn't notice was that Claire's grip on the seat was loose. He saw her lean to the side and squeaked, thinking she was going to fall. He quickly pointed his other hand at her, making a small rope of green light wrap around her waist, holding her in place. He wasn't going to risk putting her back on top of her seat, not wanting to willingly put her in danger. He moved her back down into her seat, buckling her in with his powers. He hopped down from where he was sitting and buckled himself in quickly before taking the wheel again too.

*****  
Jean was sitting on the couch of the rec room, reading a book silently to herself. _'Jean? It's Claire. I wasn't feeling well so my friend drove me home. Do you mind opening the gate for us?' _She hears Claire say to her mentally. Jean winced at the small headache. Her head was still kind of spinning from her incident. She got up any way and went to go open the gate for Claire. What she was thinking letting some human drive her home? Jean hadn't the slightest clue. She got down to the control room just in time to see a car arrive at the gate. She pressed the button to open the gate and let them in. She watched as Claire thanked the driver quickly. She sure didn't look sick. She met Claire in the lobby as she was heading upstairs

"Claire! You look well. What happened at school?" Jean asked the small human brunette girl. Claire smiled brightly at her, and Jean couldn't help but smile back. She too, like everyone else, missed Claire's smile very much.

"Rough morning. I was late for class and didn't feel well. My friend drove me home. I feel a lot better now though. How are you feeling? How's your head?" Claire asked politely to Jean. Jean smiled up at her nicely. As far as she tell Claire was back to normal.

"I'm fine, thanks Claire. Would your chippy mood have to do with a mutant boy perhaps?" Jean hinted, thinking that Claire and John had made up. She had only seen John make Claire smile like this. It had to be the reason for her smile to shine that much.

"I'll get back to you on those details. You know, it's a sister thing first." Claire said with a shrug. Jean did understand, even if she didn't have a sister. Claire valued Kitty as her older sister. Kitty would always come first, and she would always know everything first in Claire books. Jean just giggled and winked at Claire, whom just started laughing and went up stairs to her room. Jean knew that Claire Pryde was back, but for how long?


	5. Just Friends, Yeah Right

Sorry for the very long wait! I've been sick this past week and got to rereading the story, so here's chapter 5! I do not own anything in this fiction besides Claire, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 5

Enjoy!

Pyro sat on his bed, arms behind his head, eyes locked on the small cracks on the ceiling wall. He was thinking. What he was thinking about? The only person that has ever caught him off guard in his whole life. One little Miss Claire Pryde. He couldn't get her out of his head. He thought he was crazy enough. Well, he and everyone else was wrong. He's craziest without Claire by his side to cheer him on.

Why he was stuck over a girl he never kissed once was what baffled him the most. Sure he's thought about kissing Claire before, but she didn't like him like that. When he kissed Amara back, it was only just because he was scared. Scared of what? He was scared of Claire getting too close to him and end up depending on him when he's undependable. He couldn't get anymore attached than he already was to her. So he kissed Amara back on a whim.

He got what he wanted though. Claire was shutting him out, but why does it feel like he lost instead of won? That's why he wasn't fighting for her, wasn't it? He didn't want to disappoint her down the road, so wasn't it better this way? It killed him to see her so depressed at first, but since their last 'talk' in the halls of Bayville high. She's been nothing but smiles. Wasn't that good?

Why did it just seem so wrong that she was so happy, and it was so real? He could only think of one reason for why it just seemed wrong to him. He wasn't the one to achieve this success. He wasn't the one to make her smile like he use to, it was someone else' work. That was what ticked him off the most. It has been _his_ job since they _officially_ met to make her smile like she's been doing lately.

When he came home that day that she left school early, she was singing and dancing around the kitchen while she was cleaning up. She didn't know that he was there. He didn't want to risk ruining her fun either. If they weren't on the rocks he would have just jumped in and danced right there with her, but things are different now.

At dinner that same night, she smiled at everyone, but him. She even winked at Bobby Drake when he complemented her on her smile. He had to admit. He was a little jealous that Bobby fucking Drake got anything from her at all. What? Since Claire wasn't talking to him right now, _every_ guy thinks that they have a shot with her now? Hell no.

Yesterday wasn't any better. She came into the rec room in her bikini, if it could even be considered one, and smiled that smiled that has you hooked at first glance. She asked if anyone wanted to go swimming with her. The main population of the room being male, jumped at the chance. He had watched her from his balcony window. He watched as Evan pick her up and just threw her in the water. Did he not care that he could have hurt her? Kurt picked her up and bamfed above the pool, only to drop her and bamfed back to solid ground. He couldn't help but chuckle seeing that Claire had tried to push Bobby in, only for it to back fire on her, and they both were sent into the water.

"No! Stop!" A scream yelled, breaking him from his thoughts. He knew that scream. Claire! He jumped to his feet and ran over to his window. Claire was being attacked by some guy that he's never seen before. She screamed again as he went to tackle her, only she moved at the last second and he fell face first into the grass. John wasn't about to sit by and let this guy hurt her. So he ran out of his room to go save her.

"Julian, stop it please." Claire begged as she laughed. He was tickling her sides so much. She thought that she might just explode from her giggling. He didn't give up on his attack though. He was determined to get her to admit that he was her best friend. She denied it, over and over again, and said it was Rogue. He had said that Kitty didn't count.

"Not until you say it, beautiful." He told her with a chuckle as he continued his attack on her sides. She struggled to try and get out of his hold, all the while trying to keep breathing on her own. Julian just chuckled, and let her loose. He liked chasing after her. It was fun when he caught her. She'd have her brown bangs in her eyes, and she'd be laughing with that million dollar smile. It was cute.

She noticed his momentary distraction and grinned to herself. "Never!" She said as she scrambled up off the grass and made another run for it. She knew that he'd catch her again, but it was better than letting him make her insides explode. John raced to the back door, only to stop once he got it open. He watched as the guy tickled Claire after turning her around so she was facing him. He wasn't hurting her. He was making her laugh. Was this the guy who took what was his?

He froze at the door, this was the guy who did what was he should've been able to do easily. He watched as he picked up Claire, throwing her in a air to adjust his hold. She was laughing her beautiful little head off, telling him not to do what he was going to do. Pyro wanted to hurt this guy. The kid jumped in the pool with Claire clinging to him. Pyro couldn't watch it anymore, this guy was taking his place in Claire's heart, but he would not be replace.

The day that he lets some rich boy bozo like that human guy replace him in Claire's heart, would be the day hell completely freezes over. One thing that he couldn't get pass was how could Kitty let that _human_ loser into the mansion? Wasn't there rules for that in this place? There should be a sign on the front gate saying _'No Human Losers _Allowed' or something.

He stormed up the stairs and down the hallway that led to Kitty and Claire's room. He had to find out what the hell that cat was thinking. He was seeing red just thinking about the guy with Claire in the back grounds. Wasn't there training stuff back there? Was everyone loosing it today? He doesn't stop when he reaches the room, he just walks right inside. His eyes pop out of their sockets, his jaw drops to the floor.

There on Kitty's bed, was Pietro Maximoff, with a certain Kitty-Cat straddling him. Her head was flung back, his lips were sucking on her neck. Pyro was stuck. His mind was screaming to just walk out quietly, only his legs weren't listening. His eyes were forced to watch as Kitty unbuttoned a few of the top buttons of Pietro's shirt and start to suck on his shoulders and neck. Pietro eyes widened as Kitty bit on his neck, sending a tingling feeling through out his body. His eyes met the shocked and grossed out eyes of Pyro. His wide eyes changed to a glare. The little pervert wasn't moving!

"Dude!" Pietro shouted out, trying to get him to leave. Kitty and him never got_ this _intimate before. She was finally letting her walls down. He'd wait forever for her, but a man has his needs. Kitty shrieked and phased off his lap onto the floor. Pietro groaned and zoomed across the room, pushing John out in the hall. "Dude-learn-to-knock-what-ever-it-is-it-can-wait." Pietro said bitterly to him. There goes his day.

"I need ta talk ta the sheila and ya 'bout Claire." Pyro said seriously. He knew he was now going to be scarred for life, but Claire was more important. Pietro sighed and rolled his eyes. He motioned for one second to Pyro before he was gone in a flash and the door was shut.

Pietro picked Kitty up and twirled her around in his arms. She clung to him and giggled. From where John was, it sounded like they were picking up from where they left off. Pyro gagged, the images flashing into his head. He thought that he was going to be sick. A minute later, a grumpy Kitty opened the door and pulled him inside of the room. He could tell from her bed head that she was really going to go through to the end with Pietro.

"Talk. Now." Kitty growled. Boy, was she too wound up. She really did need Pietro to unwind her . . . a lot. Pyro rocked on his heels, not knowing how to look at them with out those images flashing in his head. Kitty growled again, Pietro holding her back from attacking. Pyro was wasting their time. For what? They hadn't a clue.

"How'd ya sister an' ya get the prof ta let some human ta be allowed here?" Pyro blurted out to them. Kitty, knowing who he was talking about, began to laugh. Sometimes this boy just didn't think. Pietro looked at her, taking an extra moment to figure out why in hell's name she was laughing about.

"He's not a human, John. He's a mutant. And, like, for your information, John. Watch who you call a human. Claire's one too, you know." Kitty said, entwining her fingers with Pietro's behind her. John rolled his eyes. Claire was anything but just some plain human girl. She might not be a mutant, but she has that spark that draws him in. She didn't need to have powers to be special. She did that all on her own.

"Ya knew he was mutant, and ya lettin' him chase ya sister 'round the back grounds an' toss her in the pool?" Pyro shouted out, clearly upset by this whole ordeal. Kitty sighed, seeing that this little scene that he was telling her about was hurting him a lot more than he let on deep down.

"I knew too." Pietro cuts in. Kitty just hits her head with her hand. Sometimes Pietro needs to watch what he says to certain people. Pietro doesn't see what he said wrong though, not at all. Pyro glares at him. So pretty much he was the last to know Claire's new _boy toy_ was a mutant? Just peachy.

Here he's been thinking that his competition was only some rich boy human. No. No, it's never that easy for John. If that was the case at all, he would have been the one joking around with Claire in the back. No though, it's a rich boy mutant that is. "Ya don't even live here mate. How in bloody hell did ya find out before me?" Pyro shouted out, clearly annoyed with the situation. Pietro still hadn't a clue as to why John was upset with him. He had just said that he knew Julian was a mutant too? What's the big deal?

Sure, he hasn't actually met the guy yet, but Kitty has. Usually Kitty has a good judgment, so he wasn't rushing to go corner the guy. It'd be another story if this Julian kid was 'friends' with Kitty and not Claire though. Then there would be some cornering happening. "Kitty told me." Pietro confessed. Kitty wanted to strangle her boyfriend for selling her out to John so badly. Pietro saw the look of murder in his girl's eyes, and they were directed at him. Not a good thing, not a good thing at all. He needed her to calm down, and for her to not kill him.

Kitty needed to calm the tension down. John was not a nice person when it came to competition. Pietro was not helping this situation. He just wanted John gone, and so did she, but she didn't want to do more damage in the process. "John. Julian's just, like, her friend. Nothing's going on between them." Kitty started to tell her, but paused when she saw his look. "Don't look at me like that. I can read it, like, all over your face. She's happy and back to herself again. Like, you better not mess this up for her by your jealousy getting in the way." Kitty threatened him. She didn't want to see her sister go through that again, not over John either.

Pietro saw that Pyro was going to say something else. He wanted him gone already! He jumped in front of Pyro, cutting him off from before actual words came out of his mouth. "Well-not-like-this-hasn't-been-nice-and-all-but-Pyro-has-to-leave-don't-you-bye?" Pietro says quickly, shoving Pyro out the door. Pyro turned around to speak up again, only the door was slammed in his face, shutting him up once again. He growled and just left. Pietro turned around and looked at Kitty hungrily. She giggled as she was tackled onto the bed, Pietro's lips attached to her neck once again.

John looked sadly out the window that led to the back grounds. He had heard music fill up the air and went to go see what was going on now. What he saw just gave a mighty tug on his heart. He didn't understand why he cared so much, he just did he guessed. He watched as 'Julian' dipped Claire, her hair tips touching the grass thanks to a green glow wrapped around her waist. He brought her back up to him, too close if you ask Pyro.

Just friends, sure doesn't look like _just friends_ to him. He was going to make sure this guy gets what's coming to him, especially if he's going to hurt Claire in the end anyways. Pyro didn't trust this guy at all. He just came out of the blue and he's instantly Claire's new best guy friend? Something's off about him, and John's going to find out what.


	6. Taking 1 For The Team, Don't Always Work

Thanks for the reviews! I do not own anything but Claire, everything else belongs to their rightful owner!

Chapter 6

Coming down the hallway from her room was a blind folded Claire Pryde being led by one Bobby Drake. "Bobby, please. I'm not in the mood. What ever you made, I'm sure that you can just make again tomorrow, or better yet? Show Kitty or Jubilee." Claire said sadly as Bobby led her carefully down the stairs.

He rolled his eyes at her. He couldn't wait to get Claire outside. "Will you stop? I was told to do everything in my power to get you outside." Bobby said, trying not to give too much away. He was not loosing his huge sum of cash because Claire chooses now to be anti-social. She sighed and let him guide her the rest of the way. Once they got outside, Bobby stopped and left upon seeing Julian there waiting for them. Kitty had called him earlier saying that Claire was sinking back into her depression. He got in the first car that he found in his parent's garage and was off.

He wanted to cheer her up. Kitty had got him up to date, once she got over her doubts that he was just going to hurt her like Pyro did. That was two weeks ago when she cornered him. He had been doing everything possible to earn Kitty's trust. He finally won it over, his guess being when he brought Claire back to the mansion the happiest he's ever seen her. They had gone to the mall first. At first she told him straight up that he was not buying her anything, but he did anyways. He took her to a movie after, that was his favorite part of the day. Claire, being grown up like she was, had told Julian she'd see the scariest movie that was playing. He said that she would chicken out. They made a bet about it. She won. She ended up on his lap, hiding in his arms through out the whole movie though. They would have gotten in trouble if they hadn't sat in the way back.

He didn't want to bring her home scared to death, so he surprised her by taking her out, as friends, to dinner. She had demanded that she pay for her meal since it wasn't a date. After some compromising, he had agreed to let her pay for the drinks and deserts. Since it wasn't a date, he had brought her to a small place that he knew that would make Claire's sides hurt from laughing. It had karaoke, which she had forced him to do with her. They weren't half bad together, though she was, hands down, the better of the duo.

They had gotten to know each other quite well over the past couple weeks. He knew what she liked and didn't liked, and she knew his likes and dislikes as well. He knew what her small fears were. He wasn't going to push her for information that she wasn't ready to tell. He knew it annoyed her when he gloated about how rich his family was, but she put up with him when he did. He didn't know the exact reason, but he knew she will always refuse to go to a carnival again. He didn't mind that much. He could find other places to bring her.

Bobby saw that Julian was off in his own world. "She's all yours dude." Bobby said before taking off back inside. Julian had gotten so lost in his thoughts, he had forgot about his plans for tonight. He gave his head a little shake and chuckled upon seeing Claire annoyed with the blindfold.

He sneaked up behind her, leaning his head down by her ear. "You ready for some fun, Clairie?" He whispered in her ear. She jumped out of her skin, not knowing that he was behind her. She knew that it was Julian. She should have known once Bobby held up the blind fold, but she couldn't help but wish it was someone else. She had fun with Julian, but he just wasn't John.

Julian's more like a best friend. John was more than that. She frowned to herself, Julian wasn't getting a fair chance with her. "What are you up to, Jay?" Claire asked as she turned around to face him. Even if she couldn't see him, she wanted to be facing him. Julian chuckled to himself, he loved her nick name for him for some reason. It was new and refreshing maybe?

He rolled his eyes, she always knew when he was up to something. Of course the blindfold might have given that away. "You said that you liked ice skating, didn't you Cee?" Julian smirked as he led her closer to the fountain. She nodded, very confused as to what he was getting at. He knew that she loved to ice skate already. He paused, pulling her to a halt before she could fall and hurt her self. He untied the blind fold. She gasped at the sight before her. The whole fountain was frozen solid. It was a really big fountain too. Julian chuckled and held up two pair of skates.

She had remembered Bobby knocking stuff over in her room. He had been looking for her skates was her guess. They sat down on the edge of the frozen fountain to put on their skates. He got on to test the ice first. He didn't need her or himself falling into the, now, frozen water. She giggled as he helped her up on the ice. They had a bumpy start taking off, but they got the hang of it, or at least Claire did.

Claire watched in amusement as Julian went one foot and literally face planted on the ice. "You have no idea how to skate, do you?" Claire laughed as she skated backward, facing a falling Julian. He had already fallen four times now, and she busted out laughing each time. He shot her a look as he tried to get up again, only he fell right back down.

Next timed he tries to cheer Claire up? He's making her a picnic under the stars or something. "I know the basics." Julian huffed out as he watched her twirl around. "You always call me the show off. Look at you." Julian said to her. She just laughed and skated over to him, coming to a stop once she came over to him. She bent down, a smile plastered on her face. She was enjoying being better at this then him way too much.

"I could help you, you know?" She said, holding out her hand to help him up. He tilted his head at her, a smirk playing on his lips. He let her help him to his feet, their hands never letting go of the others. They started to skate again. Her taking the lead. Him stumbling to stay on his feet. She was very surprised that he couldn't skate. She was going to remember this moment for the rest of her life.

"I think that I'm getting the hang of this, Cee." Julian said, coming up beside her, trying to spin around so he was facing her, only he twisted his ankle the wrong way and fell back, bringing Claire down with him. She screamed as they slid across the ice. Julian couldn't think straight with the pain shooting up through him from his ankle that they couldn't stop.

They went right over the edge of the fountain, limbs tangling up with each other. She ended up straddling him, hovering right over him. His ankle was killing him, but she was so close to him. It was killing him being this close. Would she hate him if he pulled something? Would she kill him before the pain in his ankle did? His eyes flickered from her brown eyes to her pink lips repeatedly. He leaned his head up, going in for the kiss, when she jumped off of him with a squeak. He dropped his head back down. He missed his chance, and probably just screwed everything up.

"Did you hurt anything? Hit your head too hard?" Claire asked him, a small squeak in her voice now. Had he just tried to actually kiss her? He must have hit his head pretty hard if he's thinking of kissing her. They were just friends, that's it. No way would he like her like that. No way. She learned that the first time with John. She took off her skates quickly and went back over to him.

He took a deep breath, trying to hold back cry of pain that wanted to be let out. He wasn't going to look like a baby in front of Claire though. No way in hell would that happen. "My head's fine, Cee. How 'bout you? You hurt . . . anything?" He said with a pause when he accidentlly moved his ankle again. She noticed how he winced in pain. He was hurt and only thinking of her. He had basically taken the whole fall, not letting the grass or ice touch her at all.

"No. I'm fine, but apparently you're not. What hurts? And I swear if you try to act all macho on me, I'll leave you here alone." She threatened him, and he knew that she very well meant it even though she was smiling while saying it. If he played this right, maybe he could get more time with Claire. He wanted her to trust him.

Things were going way too slow for him though. This was the longest so far that he's had to woo a girl, and he's seriously lacking on the 'woo' factor still with Claire. "Isn't someone pushy?" Julian joked, but shut up once he saw her glare. He sighed and rolled his eyes at her. "Fine. I think that I twisted my ankle. Happy now?" Julian groaned, not liking that one look and he has to tell her what she wants. She smiled and tilted her head. She was happy that he told her.

"Very. I'm going to bring you down to the infirmary and get the professor to look at it." Claire said as she helped him sit up. He winced from the pain, but they needed to get him up. She moved to the side with the injury and helped him up on his good foot. They limped slowly back to the mansion. Luckily for both of them they came across Jamie Madrox. Jamie stopped, he looked at the two confused, and partly amused.

Ever since Claire's come to institute, she been nothing but nice to him. He spared her with his pranks that he played on the other new recruits. He was amused seeing the guy that she was helping inside though. Jamie wasn't the only one, besides Kitty who has started to trust him now, that could see something was fishy about Julian. "Hey, Claire! Uh, hi Julian. What are you doing here?" Jamie asked, a smile on his face as he greeted Claire, only to be replaced with a scowl once he greeted Julian. Since he was the youngest, not many believed him when he said that Julian was no good. He couldn't completely blame them though. Julian did make Claire happy again, but he still didn't trust the dude.

"Hi-ya Jamie." Claire beamed at the small boy. "Do you think you could give a hand, or four?" Claire asked him. She figured that Jamie could make more of himself and give her a hand with Julian. She knew that one little Jamie wouldn't work with how much taller Julian is than him, but maybe if he had some copies of himself and stacked up, he could lend her a hand?

Julian groaned out, rolling his head around like he was in pain. Claire thought it was because of the pain in his ankle, but little did she know that it was because he only wanted Claire to help him. Not some little punk who could be no more than eight. Jamie scowled at him, when Claire wasn't looking of course. "Uh, sure Claire." Jamie said hesitantly as he made his way over to them. He tripped on his way, three copies of him appearing when he hit the floor. Claire giggled, not because he fell, but she just loved his face when more of him appeared. The four Jamie's got up and brushed themselves off before continuing on their way to Claire and Julian. The real Jamie had one of his copies jump up on his shoulders, putting Julian's arm over said clone's shoulder. Together, Claire and the two Jamie's dragged Julian to the elevator.

Julian thought quick. He really just wanted more alone time with Claire tonight. He glanced at Claire. She was talking to Jamie, a warm smile playing on her lips. He saw his opening, both were distracted. He pointing his index finger at Jamie's shoes, a green glow now surrounding them. He made a motion to pull back, Jamie's feet stopping completely. Both Jamie's fell to the floor, making Julian stumble. Claire thought quickly and tightened her hold on Julian, trying to balance their weight and height differences together. Julian looked down at Claire, once they sturdied themselves again, a smirk slowly appearing on his face. Claire looked through her bangs, her brown eyes that he could get lost in staring up at him, locking with his own eyes. His eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips like they had only moments ago. He leaned down, this was really going to happen this time. He, Julian Keller was finally going to kiss her, little miss innocent Claire Pryde.

"Sorry, Claire. I tripped." Jamie said as he lifted Julian's arm over his shoulder again, pulling Julian away from Claire. Julian shot him a look. He was so close that time. They got him to the elevator finally. That was too close, Julian acted like he was going to kiss her again. She really should ask the professor to check for head injuries for her. They arrived in the infirmary soon after. Jamie and Claire helped Julian up on the metal table, Claire and Julian holding onto each other a little longer than needed.

Claire smiled at Jamie. He was such a good friend when Claire needed him, plus it helped that he pulled pranks on everyone, but her. "Thanks for the help, Jamie." Claire told him. Jamie smiled and waved to her as he left the room. Once Jamie was gone, Claire hopped up on the table next to Julian, shoulder to arm with the height difference. Julian chuckled upon seeing her trying to suck in her gut, which she didn't have at all so it was pointless, and sat up as straight as she could so she could to try and seem tall next to him.

"What are you doing, Cee?" Julian chuckled. Claire looked up and glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout. This only made Julian come out laughing. He wasn't trying to be mean to her, just she wasn't helping her 'trying to be tough here' act.

"You're too tall, Jay." Claire announce to him. Julian was about to fall off the table and start rolling around on the floor, dying of laughing so much. Claire was just too cute for her own good. No wonder she has a line of admires. Julian was sure that she didn't know, but she had almost all the male new recruits wrapped around her finger, besides Bobby since he was with Jubilee of course.

"Maybe it's you who's too short, Cee. Ever think of that?" Julian chuckled to her. He shut up upon seeing her death glare directed at him. Again. Claire huffed and hopped off of the table, making her way in front of him. His jaw dropped, he was only joking with her. What the hell was she doing now?

"Take off your shoe." She blurted out, glaring at his shoe. Julian looked at her confused, sometimes he just couldn't understand Claire. Now being one of those very times. Maybe it just normal for a guy not to understand girls?

He smirked, he knew what to say to get her to laugh again. "Usually the ladies tell me to take off my shirt first, but what ever works for you." Julian said with a shrug. Claire rolled her eyes at him. He was satified when he saw her smile. The door opened to the room and Storm wheeled the professor inside the room. Julian sighed as she looked at Claire, whom was waiting for him to do what he knew she was asking, and took off his shoe, with the help of Claire. Storm and the professor checked over Julian's ankle, and his head on Claire's request, only to find that he just had a sprained ankle. Only the professor was holding Julian's growing emotions for Claire to himself. It was not his place to say anything. Storm put Julian's ankle area in a gauze wrap.

"Mr. Keller, if you like you could spend the night in one of rooms here. I'm sure Miss. Pryde here would be happy to take you to a room." The professor suggested to Julian. He accepted of course. What better way to hang out with Claire more? The professor chuckled upon hearing the boys thoughts. He would have spoke up if he had sensed any danger to Claire, but this boy only had thoughts of finding a way to show the young girl how he felt. Storm and the professor said good night to Claire and Julian, after they gave him a set of crutches, and left them to find their own way up.

"So, show me to my room?" Julian said, a smirk plastered on his face as he wiggled his eye brows. Claire giggled at how silly he looked and nodded. She helped him with his crutches and led him out of the room. The walk to one of the guest rooms was quick and silent, neither knew what to say. Claire wanted so badly to ask him if he was trying to kiss her, but she knew that could just be plain awkward after that. He wanted to ask her if she'd want to go out with him, not as just a friend either. He was too chicken to, thinking that she would reject him.

"So here's your room." Claire announced, opening one of the many doors to the mansion. Julian poked his head inside as he moved inside the room more. He shrugged, not bad for a mutant school. "The professor had Sam bring you some clothes while we were down in the infirmary." Claire told him. He nodded and laid out on his bed. It was very comfy. Claire giggled and went to leave, but stopped at the door upon hearing him.

"Could you stay? With me, I mean? I don't really know the place as well as you, and I think most of the people here would direct me straight to my death." Julian suggested as he sat up in the bed, careful not to move his ankle around too much. Claire giggled, she knew that he exaggerating a little. Only he wasn't, not really. Not many mutants favored him in this place.

"How about I come bright and early to bring you down to breakfast? I don't think you'd be helping your chancing of lasting your first stay at the mansion over night if I stayed." Claire giggled to him, biting her lip in hopes that he listened to her. Julian sighed with a laugh as he rolled his eyes. He really wanted Claire to stay, but he wasn't going to force her.

Claire smiled and walked over to his bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Anything I can do to change your mind? I'm injured. That has to count for something, right?" He joked, taking her small hand in his. She blushed and looked at the floor. Julian was such a flirt around her. That just reminded her that she wasn't sure about him anymore. He had tried to kiss her, twice, tonight, didn't he? Where do they stand with each other now?

"Sorry Julian. Good Night." She said sweetly to him. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before she rushed out of the room, not wanting him to see her blush. He chuckled and held his hand up to his cheek. It was a step in the right direct was what he kept telling himself.

John opened his door and stepped out just in time to be rammed into by someone, whom he could tell was rather petite. They went crashing to the floor, out of instinct, John twisted them around so he ended up hitting the floor. He groaned and looked up. Her big brown doe eyes wide behind her matching brown bangs. Her small fragile hands on either side of his head, her head only mere inches away from his own.

He saw that her already flushed cheeked only reddened. They just stared at each other. They haven't been in the same room, let alone the same place, at the same time since he had first saw her with that guy. His hands were still on her hips, as her legs were on either side of his thighs. Neither knew what to say, nor did they know what could be said. He was still in the dark about what was wrong that made her act the way that she did toward him.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything to get her to stay with him just for a minute longer. Only, for once in his life, he was utterly speechless. Every second he didn't see her, he's been thinking of something to say. Only now all those thoughts have escaped his head. Seeing her this close was just heart breaking. He had been going nuts just to bump into her once. Now he has, and he hadn't a clue what to do.

"Luv . . ." He trailed off, not knowing what more to say. That one word was more than just a name. It meant more than just some name. The tare on her heart just opened right back up, making it so new tears were forming in her eyes. His own heart broke upon seeing the tears in her eyes. He wanted so badly to just wipe them away and hold her in his arms. She got off of him quicker than he could blink and was off to her own room, leaving him speechless and heart broken.

She rushed inside the room, shutting the door quickly behind her. She wrapped her shaky arms around herself and sank to the floor, her knees just barely meeting her chin. Her sobs racked her body, her breathing coming out in pants now. What was that just now? She was all happy and blushing because of Julian, then WAM! She bumped into John and POW! The tears are back.

She's been so happy, so strong, these past few weeks. She wasn't purposely avoiding Pyro, but it was working to her advantage. Julian's been better than great to her. He deserved a better friendship than Claire could give him. Julian may have attempted to kiss her twice in one night. Could she have kissed him back, and not have broken out into tears?

She wasn't even going to go there. Last time she thought of kissing her best friend. She had found him kissing another girl. Amara Aquila no doubt. She honestly thought John cared for her, at least a little, to know that would destroy her. She knew it wasn't fair to just cut him off like she did because he wasn't into her like she thought, but she wasn't that kind of girl to just sit back and watch. She wasn't going to watch as Amara gloated about the fact that Pyro was her's and not Claire's. She wasn't going to listen as Amara taunted her about only being Pyro's friend while Amara got to get what Claire wanted. John's love.


	7. Very Riveting Stuff

Thanks for the review! I do not own anything in this story, besides Claire, everything else belongs to their rightful owners. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Claire zoned out as she watched Evan fiddle with some eraser and thumb tacks. It had been a few days since Claire's break down in her room. The morning after, breakfast was weird. Not just because Julian was there, but because basically everyone except Kitty, Jean, and a few others, that were mostly girls and Bobby, were glaring at him. She didn't know what Pyro was doing. She had refused to glance his way, but she could feel his eyes on her the whole time.

She watched as Evan played with his skate board eraser looking very bored. She watched curiously as he aimed and let to go. It went right up the ruler, that was laid against a stack of books, and hit Kurt in the arm. She smiled, her shoulders shaking as if she was laughing. This was the only class she actually had with Kurt and Evan, what with her being a year younger and all. She was still only a freshman while they were all sophomores. Kurt looked back to see Evan and Claire joking around. He rolled his eyes at them and shot them both a look. "Hey! Pay attention. This is interesting." Kurt scolded Evan as he rubbed his arm.

Evan looked at him, giving him a look that read _'You have to be kidding me?'. _It made Claire just want to laugh more. Evan and Kurt always made this class funny for her, as if Mr. McCoy wasn't funny enough. "Yeah, riveting." Evan muttered to her, putting his head down on his hands. He looked really bored. As was Claire, but she endured the class just because Mr. McCoy was her favorite teacher. He always made class more fun. It was that fact, among others, that made him her favorite teacher.

Claire jammed her elbow into Evan's side. He was being very rude. She knew Evan wasn't the biggest fan of molecules, neither was she, but it was really rude to be half a sleep in someone's class. "Could you be any ruder, Ev?" She hissed at him. He shrugged while he sat up and rubbed his side where she elbowed him. He wasn't a big fan of her elbow at the moment. She hit him with it really hard.

He didn't know how she could possibly not be as bored as he was though. He knew for a fact that she hated this topic with a passion. "Could you be anymore annoying, Clay?" Evan hissed back at her. She shot him an annoyed look. He shrugged it off and just leaned back in his chair. Some of his friends were waving to him from outside caught his eye. Claire followed his eye sight and she rolled her eyes upon seeing a couple of Evan skater buddies. "Hey! Yo teach, can I have the bathroom pass?" Evan said, raising his hand and standing up from his seat.

Claire couldn't believe Evan! Would he just ditch class to go hang out with some skater punks? It just wasn't like Evan to do that, well not around Claire at least. She watched as Mr. McCoy passed him the pass. "Don't get lost. The best part has yet to come." He says as they all watch Evan leave the room. "Ookay, lets see some fireworks." He says while putting on his goggles. Claire frowns, she knew that Evan wasn't coming back. She watched as Mr. McCoy turned on the burner and dropped the dry ice cube in the container. She was amazed upon seeing the flame dance to life. If only John was in this class, than he'd really make the flame dance. She suddenly frowned and looked out the window. "Intense, huh? You should see it in the dark." Mr. McCoy said as he went to close the shades.

He paused as he looked out the window. Claire knew what he was looking at, cause she was looking at it too. It was Evan skating off with his friends. Claire watched as Evan looked up and locked eyes with Mr. McCoy, yet he still left with his friends. "I can't believe him." Claire said, more to herself than anyone else though really. Kurt had heard her and looked over, only to see her glaring out of the window.

"So, where were we?" said as he was making his way over to his desk. Claire gasped in horror as he keeled over in pain. Claire and Kurt looked at each other, both not having a clue as to what was going on. "Go . . . go and read chapter four. I'll be back in a while." He said as limped out of the door and took off down the hall somewhere.

"I still can't believe Evan. How could he just skip class like that?" Claire gushed to her sister and Kurt as they walked down the hall. Kitty shrugged, she had knew Evan the best. He just got impatient sometimes. It didn't excuse his skipping class, but she knew what was going on in his head. At least, she thinks she does.

They stopped as they rounded the corner. Principle Kelly was putting caution tape up over a shatter room. Kurt and Claire looked at each other, it couldn't be? "Claire, you don't zink?" Kurt asked, leaving Kitty in a confused state.

Claire didn't want to believe it, but it was quite a coincidence that Mr. McCoy had a freak out in class the same day this had happened. "I don't know Kurt. Mr. McCoy doesn't seem capable of doing anything like that." Claire said to him, filling in Kitty enough to know that Kurt thought it was one of their favorite teachers to destroy the bathroom. They walked by Risty and Principle Kelly in silence before they went to their next class, or well Kitty and Kurt's next class. Claire's was a little farther down the hall.

"McCoy? Are you two crazy? Like Claire said, he wouldn't do anything like that." Kitty said to them as they stopped in front of a class room. Kitty looked at them disbelieving. She put her hand on her hip and looked Kurt straight in the eye since it was his crazy idea in the first place. How could he seriously think this? So the guy had a spaz attack during class, it didn't mean that he was some monster or anything. "I'm serious. You should have zene him in chemistry. He vas totally losing it, and no one has seen him around since." Kurt said, trying to give a point to the two girls. They both still laughed though.

Claire knew Kurt was partly right, but that didn't mean that she believed him completely. "Kurt, Mr. McCoy is the coolest teacher we got around here, and the nicest." She said to him as she lowered her voice and looked back into the room "Unlike Mrs. Hawkins in here. We have a massive Geometry test on Friday and I'm so not ready. Kay bye, Claire." Kitty said as she waved and entered the class room with Kurt. Claire rolled her eyes and went to her own class.

Evan skated up to the mansion. He couldn't get over how freaked Mr. McCoy was in the park. He knew that he would be upset over him skipping his class, but that was beyond mad. It just didn't seem right though, like something was seriously wrong with him. He picked up the package as he hopped off his board. 'Kitty Pryde' it read on the box in big letters. He hurried it up the steps and went inside of the institute.

Claire watched from above with the Professor and Logan as the X-Men did their course in the danger room. She loved watching, and she wished that the professor would let her join in once sometime in the future. She has been super excited since she got home and had a talk with the professor, or rather he had a talk with her. She was so excited that she couldn't wait to tell Kitty and the others. She was going to be the first human in the school for gifted youth. She was literaly jumping out of her skin from the excitement. She even saw Mr. Logan crack a smile when she told him.

She watched above as Scott picked up Rogue from the ground. She tried not to laugh, but from the looks of it? Rogue was not enjoying herself. The others were trying to get Scott to hurry up. They were almost out of time. She sighed, the buzzer went off before Scott and Rogue could get to the stand. She watched as Storm appeared and the scenery change back to normal.

She looked to see Evan now joining the group. She sighed, he was going to get it now. She felt bad as everyone said something mean to him as they left. Rogue even bumped shoulders with him, giving him a shove. Even Storm said something, Claire couldn't quite hear what, but it looked like it has hit a soar spot with Evan.

She looked at the professor, asking if she could do something mentally to him. He nodded and she grabbed the microphone. "Hey Ev! Maybe if the professor lets me, I could do the course with you sometime? I trust you, and I know you won't let any of those orbby things hit me. Call me when you have time to fit me in." Claire said in a cheerful voice as she waved down to Evan. His frown, lopsided into a grin and he waved back before he left.

Claire smiled and left with Logan and the professor. She was happy to at least make someone happy today. "That was very kind of you to suggest that to Evan, Claire." The professor said to her as she wheeled him down the hall, with Logan on their left. Claire smiled. She was glad to do it. Logan just grunted and kept walking along.

Kitty was on her way back to her and Claire's room when she noticed a package with her name on it in the rec room. "Oh cool! It's here." She said out as she jogged over to it. She ripped it open and dug her pyramid hat out of the box. Scott was thinking hard on the couch, still in uniform. He looked up to see Kitty wearing something twice her head size. "Okay be honest, do you like it?" Kitty said, posing for Scott with the hat on her head.

What was he suppose to say to her? He couldn't be mean, though he was finding it very hard not to laugh right now. "Uh, very unique." Scott said as honestly as he could. He was sitting up now on the couch. He wanted to laugh, but he wasn't going to be mean to Kitty. She probably had a good reason for buying, what ever that thing on her head is.

"Well, it's suppose to stimulate brain power."

Scott got it now. She was still freaking out about her up coming test that she and Kurt had. "Oh, I gotcha. Still stressing on the Geometry test, huh?" Scott said as he laid back down on the couch. He knew that there was a perfect reason for that stupid hat thing on her head.

He closed his eyes, trying to relax. "What can I say? Desperate times, call for desperate measures." Kitty said with a smile in her expression as she talked. She turned to leave, putting her hands on her hat. "Oh I think I feel my head tingling." She says as she leaves the room. Scott chuckles to himself. Sometimes that girl was in her own world.

Claire went to go find Evan. They haven't really hung out in a long while. She found him about to leave the school. Where he was going? She really didn't know. Didn't he just get back from where ever he went when he left class? She jogged outside, hoping not to miss him. "Evan! Wait!" She hollered over to him as she jogged down the steps. Only, being a klutz like she is, she tripped and braced herself for the impact.

Evan saw her about to fall face first down the steps, but he was too far away to even try to catch her. He let out a breath when a green glow wrapped around her and caught her. Julian came up behind Evan with his crutches, his powers keeping Claire locked in his grip. He shot a glare at Evan, whom hadn't even moved to do something.

Wasn't this kid the girl's sister's best friend or something? Julian lifted Claire up and over to them, gently putting down at his side. "You okay, Cee?" Julian asked, checking her over for any scratches. She rolled her eyes at him and slapped his hand away. Even when he was seriously hurt, he was still fussing over her.

Evan didn't like the guy. He was actually rooting for Pyro to win back Claire and kick this guy's ass. He was worse than Pyro ever was in the gloating department. "I'm fine. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off that foot?" Claire asked him, crossing her arms underneath her chest. She wanted an answer, and she wanted it now. Evan smirked, he really did miss the old Claire. He still didn't know why she acted so depressed before, but he was glad she's back.

Though Julian wasn't around to see her in her depression, he really didn't want to and glad he was able to pull her out of it. Claire was happy to have Julian in her life, but only as her friend. She didn't want anyone else to like her. As bad as it is, she's still hung up on Pyro. "Came to see what you were doing for the rest of the day. It's my ankle, Cee. It's not the end of the world." Julian said to her with a sigh. Claire would have smacked him in the arm if he didn't have the crutches.

Claire rolled her eyes at him again. She was about to disappoint someone, and she really hated doing that. "Actually, if it's alright with Evan, I was going to have him teach me how to skate board." Claire said, shooting a smile over to Evan. Evan smiled back, giving her his answer. He was actually surprised that he hadn't taught Claire how to skate board sooner.

Julian shot a worried glance at Claire, and then a glare at Evan. He didn't want her getting hurt, from what he saw, Evan just stands there like an idiot. "How 'bout I take you to my family's restaurant instead? We could go rent this movie I know that has a skater chic in it? Watch it at my folks place. They have a built in movie theater in their pool house." Julian said, trying, but miserably failing, at convincing Claire to change her mind. If he knew Claire well as everyone in the mansion did, Julian would have known you can't change a Pryde girl's mind on anything.

Claire was a little upset that Julian was trying what he was. She told him that she was going to hang out with Evan. No matter what he thought, it wasn't his place to put his two cents in. She's known Evan a lot longer than she has Julian. He might not trust Evan, but she sure does. "Maybe some other time, Julian. I really want to learn how to _actually_ skateboard, not watch some other girl do it." Claire said as she skipped over to Evan's side, linking arms with him.

Evan felt a little more masculine with Claire. He was usually the shortest of the team, except when Pryde girls were concerned, yet with her he was taller. Even if only by an inch or two. "Don't let her break anything, will you Danials?" Julian now spoke to Evan. Evan rolled his eyes and nodded. As skilled as Evan was, he took off on his board with Claire on his back, holding onto him for dear life as they left the institute.

Julian growled to himself. He wasn't getting anywhere with Claire thanks to Evan and that stupid Pyro boy. He knew, oh yeah he knew, that it was Pyro who was holding Claire back from liking him. "The Shelia's gone mate. Maybe ya should get ya buttocks outta here too? An' if I was ya, which thank the heavens I'm not, I'd never come back." A voice said harshly to him, coming out from the school. Julian's smirk played dancing on his face. Speak of the flaming devil himself. Pyro.

"I have no idea why you hate me man, but I don't honestly really care either. I just really find it funny how you don't see that I'm the guy who makes Claire happy now. Not you." Julian said as he takes out his cell phone to call his driver to pick him up at the gates. It was a long walk, but it was worth it to get away from this fire freak. John growls, his side pocket were his lighter is was warming up, he can feel it. That guy was really something alright. He needed help if he was going to get this guy gone for good and get Claire back. He walked back inside, but who could help him?

Evan was holding onto Claire, trying to help her find her balance without falling flat on her butt . . . again. "You just got to balance, Clay." Evan said as he held still onto Claire's hips and kept her balanced on the board as they moved along. This was harder than he had first thought, but it was fun just to hang with Claire and him.

He was happy, knowing that one person still could depend on him, even if he didn't deserve it. "I can't believe that I never thought of asking you to teach me this before. It's fun." Claire says as Evan lets go of her and she skates on her own for the first time since they arrived in the park. She cheered once she curved to a stop and got off of the board.

She was quickly getting the hang of it. Evan was happy to see that she was getting a hang of it. He tried teaching Kitty to skateboard once, but it was a lost cause. Claire on the other hand was a pro already, or at least close to getting to that point. Claire was happy to see that she was making Evan's day. She could tell that her learning to skate board was cheering him up. "That's great, Clay. You're catchin' up fast." Evan says to her, giving her a high five.

Claire jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck in hug. She smiles as they laugh at him trying to keep his feet balanced on the cement. "That's cause I got such a good teacher." She as she hugged him firmly. He laughed and put her on the ground. He ruffled up her hair and they continued on with her lessons. Kitty would be happy to see her sister and best friend getting along. It was as if Claire had been there since they were little, like she hadn't been kept a secret for all those years.


End file.
